Multivitamin for Testosterone: How to Fix Micronutrient Imbalances
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018
Medical Review by Gerardo Sison, PharmD
Probably one of the simplest ways to increase natural testosterone production is just to correct all of your underlying vitamin and mineral deficiencies. That is, since you can often do it effortlessly with a proper diet and a multivitamin supplement.
Depending on the state of your current micronutrient balance, it’s not uncommon to double or even triple your testosterone levels by just correcting micronutrient deficiencies and adding in a good multivitamin for testosterone. No joke, I have seen it happen with dozens of AM readers who have emailed me their natural T optimization progress along this past year or so.
You’d think that with the current obesity epidemic, any average Joe’s vitamin and mineral reserves should be easily topped-up, since we’re cramming foods to our mouths more than ever before…
…still, large portions of the US population are deficient in multiple key micronutrients:
- vitamin A (35%)
- vitamin C (31%)
- vitamin E (67%)
- vitamin D (74%)
- vitamin K (67%)
- choline (92%)
- potassium (100%)
- calcium (39%)
- magnesium (46%)
Since the state of our Average Joe’s micronutrient balance is downright scary, today’s article will be devoted to one simple thing. Correcting your vitamin and mineral deficiencies, since it’s likely that you do have some…
How to Fix your Micronutrient Deficiencies
Fixing your vitamin and mineral imbalances for optimal testosterone production starts from optimizing the diet and then using a solid multivitamin for testosterone production.
For starters, you don’t want to omit from any macronutrient group (protein, fats, carbs), and you definitely need to eat more real ‘whole foods’ instead of processed crap.
I’m talking about foods like eggs, grass-fed meats, pomegranates, berries, avocados… A proper ‘whole food-based diet’ alone covers the intake of many key micronutrients…
…However, speaking from experience, even that is not always enough. To support your diet, I would advise that you also supplement with a multivitamin for testosterone.
Not convinced about the importance of vitamins to increase testosterone production? Take a look here:
- Vitamin A is stored in testicles (and few other glands of the body). Studies have shown that when there’s no active vitamin A in the testes, T levels start dropping rapidly, and estrogen synthesis shoots up. Also in a study of 155 male twins, a clear correlation was found between vitamin A levels and serum testosterone. In prepubertal teens, vitamin A + iron supplementation is as effective in starting puberty as hormone replacement therapy.
- Vitamin B complex (which consists of 8 different water-soluble vitamins), plays an important role in testosterone production and overall bodily energy levels, deficiency in many B vitamins results in increased estrogen levels, increased prolactin levels, and lowered testosterone levels (study, study, study, study).
- Vitamin C has a protective effect on testosterone molecules, and this is because it’s a potent antioxidant and able to block some cortisol secretion and oxidative damage (study, study, study, study, study)
- Vitamin D supplementation with a dose of 3332 IU’s for one full year leads to 25% higher testosterone levels in healthy male subjects. The positive correlation with vitamin D levels and serum testosterone have been noted in various other human studies too (study, study, study).
- Vitamin E deficient human and rodent subjects both experience a significant drop in LH, FSH, and testosterone levels, conversely, vitamin E supplemented humans and rodents notice significant increases in pituitary LH and FSH, and also in serum testosterone.
- Magnesium intake has had a direct effect on serum testosterone levels in various studies. In this one, 10 mg/kg of magnesium was able to increase free testosterone levels by 24%. Here magnesium intake was positively correlated with high serum T levels, and in this large review study the researchers conclude: “there is evidence that magnesium exerts a positive influence on anabolic hormonal status, including testosterone, in men.”
- Calcium has its role in controlling neurotransmitter release and the signaling between cells and hormones. Not much is known about its effects on testosterone, but in 1976 a group of researchers found out that calcium stimulates testosterone synthesis in isolated Leydig cells. 33 years later another study saw that calcium supplementation didn’t alter T levels at rest, but did significantly increase (18%) T levels post-exercise.
- Selenium, mostly due to its glutathione stimulating effects, has been linked to increased testosterone production and improved sperm parameters in few studies (study, study)
- Zinc has a significant positive effect on testosterone production and a deficiency will hammer the endocrine system. In fact, zinc might be one of the most important micronutrients for healthy testosterone production. It has increased testosterone levels in athletes and exercising ‘normal men’ (study, study), in men with zinc deficiency, in infertile men, in animals… It’s also noted in one rodent study that zinc deficiency can upregulate the estrogen receptors by 57%, probably due to the fact that zinc has its role in controlling the aromatase enzyme.
- Boron, although not very common mineral to supplement with, has few interesting studies backing up its testosterone boosting effects. In this human study, 6 mg’s of boron for 60 days increased free testosterone levels by 29%. In another human study, 10 mg’s of boron for 7 days increased free testosterone by 28%.
- Manganese appears to have a direct GnRH stimulating effect in the brain, and logic says that it should therefore also increase testosterone levels. However, mega-dosing with manganese should not be an option, since it accumulates in the body and can become neurotoxic at high levels. When taken at too high doses, manganese can actually reduce T levels.
Conclusion on a Multivitamin for Testosterone
The above is just a short list of scientific examples of vitamins for testosterone and why you don’t want to be deficient in any of these key vitamins and minerals.
Eat a diet rich in whole foods and always consume foods from all the macronutrient groups (fats, carbs, protein), this alone provides you with many of the essential micronutrients for T production, and also makes sure that your body can absorb them efficiently (for example, fat-soluble vitamins can’t properly absorb if you’re eating a low-fat diet, etc).
To support your diet, add in a multivitamin (affiliate link) for testosterone and perhaps some other vitamin and mineral supplements (though multi is the way to go and definitely enough if you’re low on cash).
Ali Kuoppala
